to cut or not to cut (poll)

hi all

i have got my self stuck in a corner.
i have always wanted to build a baja and i have gone and got my self a 70 bug /1500. i have had it for a couple of months now but !!!

the bug is stock as a rock 1 owner all original, paint, plates, trim, keys, spare tyre, jack and tool kit 140000 miles with complete logs from new. it not in great condition but for 39 years it pretty good. no rust afew dents and paint wearing thin.

i have come to cross road were i do not have the heart to cut it.

what i am after is to see what people out there in vw land would and then maybe i can come to a dission
CUT OR NOT TO CUT

Cheers.

find a notso good one n cut the crap outta that
good beetles are hard n will be harder to find n you will kick your self in the long run..
IMO

I would start with a good one to cut up. I don't see the point in getting a rusty poor condition car to chop, and then find you spend more time restoring the crap rusty parts than the actual chop job.

There's plenty of good beetles out there that have been molestored and are not original.....start with one of them !

find another good one that has had several owners, no service history, non original motor etc etc.............and sell yours to someone that wants to do a restoration of a true original 👍

i`m with H and Craig,and i know what helbus is talking about ,my bajas body has a bit more rust than thought ,so its like chasing your tail fixing it up then there is the engineering etc to get done... sell the one you have to someone to restore and buy yourself a baja already regoed etc as its less hassle than building one👍

NO

no cut

cut the bugger it's probably sick of being a plain old bug

What excatly are you going to cut. If your carefull you could probably take most of it appart and buy fiberglass kits for it then if you dont likr it put all the bits you originlly took off back on.

but once you get it back together its no longer in its production state after that i would NOT have problem turning it into baja.

im all for bajas. but the guys have a point, get a nice straight bug thats in good nick but not origional like yours and cut that.

, if u want a baja, cut it . i seen a hot lookin baja with back guards on the front. just turned around and cut off. and the front was just the original front with no fiberglass nose put on. just a cut front bonnet with a section welded on to fit it down to the front where the brake resevoir sits [moved obviously] and an infill the front inspection plates had lights fitted and a chrome section underneath. hard to explain, but it was the best lookin baja i seen, black with flames n big wide rear chromies . a streeter

I agree with Craig,
you can get another decent bug pretty cheap.
Don't cut it up considering it's got all that history.
If you do you'll end up kicking yourself for it later on.....
Cheers
D

yar dont cut 😉

im with craig once you chop u wont stop ...

and heres one for grogy

I vote don't cut the stock bug. Its a shame to destroy a piece of history. Get yourself another one for the baja project.

so far the "don't cut" have it and i am feeling better, i was starting think i was a bit soft.
looks like i will driving a stocker around untill i save some cash and convince the misses we need a second bug.


keep em coming !

Cheers
Elton

No way! You'll find one that hasn't been looked after quite as well so cut that one up. I wouldn't even think about it with one like yours.

Or you could just find a cheap Baja and restore that. I don't know. Just don't cut up a good bug.

Nooooo! Dont do it!

vw baja kit,
bug eye type $150
tel 02 49 34 1212
Thornton nsw

drive the front end into a brick wall,

then cutting it into a baja would be the best way to panel beat the damage :P
so much cheaper to, and no guilt trip! 👍

There are millions of the bugs built, and its only a 70's. Still a classic none the less, but not necessarily rare. i wish my baja was clean to start with. Replacing and welding in new a pillars here followed by a full flippin expensive long winded off the chassis resto there, it gets a little tedious. And its still friggen going...

please don't cut it.

i'm sure that you will find a good rust free one that isn't original or needs some work on the front / rear end.

someone here might even have a baja to swap for your car.

by the sounds of your car, i'd be happy to have it.

No don't cut. Maybe see if you can find a baja already cut, and go from there.

nah, don't find an already baja'ed and cut baja, cut another beetle.

Experience has shown that if you get a baja, its mostly likely guaranteed that its been dune hoppin, scraping and thrashing in the mud, perhaps experienced salt water, been launched in the air, bumped and knocked into rocks or trees, etc. etc.

If you find another street bug, then you know it hasn't been exposed to nuffin much more than the pleasant bitumen, guaranteeing you less repairs and suprises. (exc. paddock bashers).

A good baja is worth a good $, a shabby one is cheap. a cheap unorig. street bug would run ova a shabby baja both quality and $ value wise.

I'm just speaking from the heart aching experience of a shabby 67' baja with broken chassis forks, a gearbox full of sand, hidden rust left right and centre, fouled suspension, the lot! (IE: its had a hard life, like any usual baja)

people do silly things , I heard that they cut up good beetles to make oz trikes🤪
Its your car and your money do what you want.

not that i can talk, but don't cut - not with so much original material and story line.

dont cut stay with original

everyones suddenly become a purist 🙄

thinker, it sounds like you have a sentinmental attachment to this bug now
If your planning on keeping the bug long term then why not turn it into your dream bug but if your worried about resale value or dont plan on keeping all that long then dont cut it

ive been in the same boat
my Lbug was also totally original, never pranged, rusted, full history blah blah... and everything ive done to it will easily be reversed
ppl are quick to jump on the its only a 70s bug cut it bandwagon but original 70s bugs in particular Lbugs in 20 years will be just as scarce as ovals cos they were only made for 2 years and most of them are now rusted convertables that haven been or will be crushed
so i never had the heart to cut it up to fit a suby so much so i bought another bug already cut up for it and just realised no point in having tomany toys

but ive come to realise now after 10 years im not gonna part with it now for anything so why not make it what i want

sheet metal can be replaced if i decide for some strange reason to go back to VW power

just same as a baja can be turn back to stock with a confident welder

there is a bit of Merit in what bajachris says bout starting with one that hasnt been thrashed off road but by the same token he should have checked his out alot more thoroughly or had someone else who knew what they were looking for check it

End rant

lol i was 16 at the time, and the dude came across as a crazily Christian holy man, the sort who seemed to have morals, ethics and a person i could trust. i was foolish enough to buy sight unseen, a freight truck later and a funds transfer and it led to a disappointment.

Chris i wasnt having a dig at you personally just trying to make a point

30+ year old cars are not something you buy sight unseen unless its for next to nothing

and yea i know who the seller was, someone who should have known better
and last time i spoke to him he knew that too

Please don't cut it up... I agree with the majority find another more suitable project. It might be a 70's but, in another 10 - 20 yrs it's gonna have alot more interest.
I read an article in a U.K. VW magazine just recently and they thought nothing of cutting up a 50's split or oval bug back then... It's the same deal now... Don't waste a good bug

Actually, cut it up................then it will make mine worth more !😂

chop it

hmm i did buy a baja then was thinking hmm this has been bashed up maybe i should buy one in better condition ???

Don't cut. If it is okay body wise etc, I'll swap you two cut 54 oval shells. Already for baja'ing. One has the front and rear valances already cut off. No chassis though and really just the shells.

where are you? i have a baja project with very little rust, already cut, if i put the passenger side axle back in it will be rolling, on stock wheels got an assortment of baja kits you can choose some bits from, some seats that would suit recovering on VW rails, maybe some barwork if its still lying around, currently dismantled for complete revamp so would suit a complete build perfectly, have all the little bits of trim etc in boxes, most of it labled, unfortunatly working a lot now and am getting things done on my other baja the chance of me getting around to the other one is slim. no engine.

600 bucks, take it away on a trailer.

worth a try.

oh and its a 63

I'm in sydney

i have to type quitely because i am sure the misses can here my brain ticking over.

anyway i sat down to say to all those who said don't cut it you have made me feel bad about even thicking about it.
here a couple of pics and this his how it is going to stay, maybe not stock as rock but all mods will be very reversable (bolt on only) and not visable from the outside.

pics aren't that great just snaped off the phone.

thanks for all your comments

Elton (thinker)

Maybe i think to much !

definitely way to good to chop,mine had rust in the front clip,plus it didnt cost that much to start with..to see what i started with look here http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=64012

i notice you are not far away from me too👍

had a look at your ride i dont have the rust you did thankfully the car was rust proofed from new and it worked but its a bugger of a stuff to get off, most of it is dry but if its not it like honey but stickier.

it looks like im not far from you at all just down the road in a manner of speaking

Elton
(thinker)

Right choice 👍

Good choice!